It's no secret that our power bills have increased dramatically over the past several years with no relief in sight. Many of us are looking to make changes today and reducing your energy consumption in your home is a good start. But first, what is energy consumption and how can you reduce it?
What is energy consumption?
Energy consumption is the amount of energy or power you use. You often hear it in reference to your household electricity bill.
You have an electricity meter at your house which measures how much electricity your household uses. Your meter is regularly read by your electricity company to calculate your electricity bill.
Needless to say, the less electricity you consume, the less your electricity bill will be.
In 2014, the average household electricity usage in Australia was 5,817 kWh per year. With most people paying between 16-30c per kWh - reducing your household energy consumption could slash your electricity bill by hundreds of dollars each year. Calculate how much electricity you use compared to other similar households in your area using this simple tool.
Easy ways to reduce your energy consumption
There are some simple things you can do at home to reduce your energy consumption.
- Change all the lights in your house to LEDs, and turn them off when they’re not needed
- Switch your appliances off at the wall - some continue to use energy even when you're not using it
- Check that your fridge and freezer doors seal correctly and are firmly shut
- Keep cool in summer by closing windows, doors, curtains and blinds
- If you have a pool, use a pool cover to keep the heat in
- When upgrading appliances, look for an energy-efficient appliance by choosing one with a higher energy star rating
Although all of these suggestions will reduce your household energy consumption and electricity bill, by monitoring your energy consumption you can increase your savings further by knowing when to use energy.
Monitoring energy consumption
Knowing how much energy your household consumes and when can result in some serious savings on your electricity bill.
If you're one of the more than 1.64 million Australian households with solar panels on your roof, you can reduce your energy consumption by using your most energy draining appliances such as the dishwasher or washing machine when your panels are producing more energy than your household is consuming.
If you don’t have panels, you can monitor your electricity consumption and reduce your electricity bill by using your energy draining appliances at times when electricity prices are lowest. Some electricity plans charge different prices at different times throughout the day for using energy. By timing your appliances to come on when energy is cheapest you can save big on your electricity bill.
But besides running out to check your meter every half hour, how can you monitor your household electricity consumption?
With smart energy monitoring like Reposit First, you can monitor your household's energy usage in real-time, and even get predictions for your household energy usage. Letting you plan the best times to use energy and still reduce your electricity bills.
Keep track of how much your electricity consumption is costing you and tweak how you use your appliances to get the best value from them by monitoring your electricity consumption.
